Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery Box Set

by Katherine H Brown

  CHAPTER 23

  By the time we left, Sam shook from head to toe. Griff agreed to let me take her to my place. I doubted she wanted to see the duplex gifted to them by her parents on their ascent to greater things; I doubted she wanted to think of them much at all. Thankfully, my truck was in the lot in front of the police station. I didn’t know or care how it got there, only grateful that someone had brought it from Deidra’s home.

  Nothing else major came from the interview. The detective gathered additional details, details that could be confirmed later. Wade demanded a DNA test and requested that it be released to the public. I doubted anyone would be accommodating that demand, though the DNA test was ordered and I wouldn’t be surprised if news “accidentally” spread.

  Deidra and Gregory showed up to dinner at the country club that night where Gregory Lowe, pale-faced and rigid, announced his resignation as mayor.

  The rest of us avoided the dinner and as much social media coverage of it as possible. It fleetingly occurred to me that Vinny would be disappointed that all of his hard work on outfits had gone to waste.

  Speculation was spinning by the time the late-night news came on as to whether or not the mayor’s marriage would survive any better than his political career after one photo caught Gregory giving Deidra a rather distasteful look before the speech. I turned off the television, disgusted with the parasitic nature of people to latch onto scandal like a tic on a dog.

  Sam didn’t argue when I gave her Ibuprofen and Benadryl and sent her to bed early. She hadn’t spoken much on the way home. It was tempting to blabber, keeping up a stream of conversation to try to make her feel better but I knew she would be okay. She just needed time for the shock to wear off.

  CHAPTER 24

  Friday morning, I woke before the alarm and turned it off, sneaking out while Sam slept. She needed the rest and the Ooey Gooey would be fine without her for the morning.

  She disagreed. By ten I had a dozen texts from her asking why I let her oversleep. I smiled. She might still be hurting, no doubt, but her take charge attitude asserted itself again; she was coping. I silenced my phone and got back to work. Sam would undoubtedly be here in no time.

  Sam: Don’t you know it is party day!!!

  Sam: We have so much to do.

  Sam: I’ll be there soon. Have to find clothes.

  Sam: Your closet is pathetic.

  The last message made me laugh out loud. Victoria waited for me to share the joke but I shook my head. Back to business. “Are all the special desserts ready for tonight?”

  Victoria gave me a flour-coated thumbs-up. “You bet.”

  “Great. I’m going to run to Flo’s and make sure they have the balloons and bouquet ready.”

  I knocked on the back door. Flo opened it wide. “Come in. Is it true?”

  “Is what true?” The question caught me off guard.

  “The mayor resigned after he had to get his wife out of jail yesterday?”

  My jaw dropped. Boy, rumors in a small town were like chicken pox at a sleepover, popping up overnight, all big and crazy. “No. Well, he resigned but Deidra wasn’t in jail. I mean, she was at the jail but not arrested. We all were. Not arrested.” Words stammered out of me, none making sense. I rubbed both hands down my face. Really, I was too tired for this.

  “Maybe you should come sit down and start over.” Flo led me to a row of stools.

  BeeBee popped in from the store as I sat down. “Hey!” She looked happier each day.

  It cheered me to see her thriving after all that she had been through. I wanted desperately to tell her Landon might find someone who knew Eva soon but I bit my lip. “Hey yourself,” I said lamely. “I came to see if the party flowers would be ready tonight or if y’all needed any help?”

  “Everything is ready.” Flo nodded for BeeBee to open up one of the cabinets near her.

  I clapped my hands. The arrangement for Millie begged to be photographed. In a gorgeous pewter vase, they had arranged flowers into bold sections of color: yellow, orange, red, violet, blue, white. Behind the flowers, an oversized painter’s palette stood making each group of flowers look like the colors of paint dabbed on it. Breathtaking. “Millie is going to love this.” I laughed. “She’ll probably start sketching it immediately.”

  “Thanks.” Flo blushed. “I’ll admit, it took a lot of thinking to come up with the idea. BeeBee actually suggested adding art supplies to the arrangement. It was the perfect suggestion but I didn’t have any. When I went shopping and saw this giant palette, I just knew.”

  I understood. Sometimes cookies were like that for me. Most likely anyone who created had experienced the struggle, the angst and banging your head against the wall on some days whereas on others ideas sprang to life on their own and begged you to bring them to life.

  BeeBee took me to the store of the shop to show me several new flowers. I left out the front and strolled slowly down the sidewalk back to the Ooey Gooey. Millie, I noticed, had cleaned all of the windows, removing all traces of the paint used to attract customers during the blackout. The café hummed with energy when I went in the door. Many customers looked up and greeted me. I stopped to chat with several, whispering an invite to tonight’s party to a few, explaining the need for secrecy.

  Most were excited to be invited. Grandpa Rex, looking very disappointed, said that he wouldn’t be able to make it and left.

  “Sam’s here.” Gladys pointed back to the kitchen when I made my way to the counter at last.

  “How is she?”

  “You mean, besides mad at you for not waking her up?” Gladys chuckled. “She seemed fine.”

  Last night, after Sam went to bed, I had called and updated Gladys, thanking her for calling the police.

  “You want those recipes now?”

  My blank stare clued Gladys in that I had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Girl, your memory is getting worse than mine. You need to get one of those reminder apps; they’re great.” Gladys handed me two index cards. “The recipes for savory French desserts that you wanted from Frédéric. Here., I got them.”

  “Ohhh! Oh. Yes.” I took the cards. “Thanks, Gladys.” Now I had to come up with a day to make savory French desserts or else tell Gladys that I hadn’t needed them, only time to distract her. Nope. French desserts sounded way better. Looking at the cards, I read the recipe titles. Pistachio Profiterole and Chocolate Chili Éclair. Definitely sound interesting, though I don’t understand the trend to mix chilis into chocolate.

  Too busy to stay mad long, Sam forgave me for letting her sleep. She did look tons better today, her color bright, her smile in place didn’t look forced. It still drooped occasionally but then she’d be laughing with Millie or Victoria again in no time. Business stayed busy and Sam stayed in the kitchen. A good decision, since several of the new faces out front probably only came to find out from Sam if the rumors about Deidra were true. They didn’t have to wait long. The six o-clock news ran an extra feature all about the skeletons in the Lowe family closet. The news app on my phone sent me an alert when the story broke. Before turning it off, I learned that Wade Dunkin had been sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

  When the customers in the bakery thinned to only those invited to the party, I returned to the kitchen and sent Millie out front under the guise of helping Gladys. Sam texted Flo to tell her we were ready. Victoria and I carried trays of goodies while Sam held the swinging door open for us. Flo and BeeBee came through the street-side entrance in the front.

  “What’s all this?” Gladys wanted to know.

  Millie looked up from wiping down a table. Her eyes found the Artist’s Love Bouquet, as Flo called it, and gasped. Putting a hand to her throat, Millie stood transfixed as Victoria took the bouquet from Flo and presented it to her.

  “You didn’t think you could sneak out of town without a party, did you?” Victoria teased.

  Another handful of guests crowded through the front door, including a particula
rly snazzy looking off-duty fireman. Millie blushed.

  “Surprise!” Sam smiled.

  “Happy going away party.” I hugged Millie.

  “I really don’t know what to say.” Millie shook her head, stunned. “This, all of it,” she gestured to the food and balloons all around, “this is so incredible. I can’t believe it.”

  One more jingle of the bell announced the arrival of Frédéric. Looking to Millie, I said, “Hope you don’t mind sharing the spotlight but we’re also having a Wedding Reception for Gladys.”

  “What?” Gladys’s look of shock made the crowd laugh.

  “Double surprise!” Sam laughed.

  “You two girls.” Tears rolled down Gladys’s nose from the corners of her eyes. “Thank you, very much.”

  The bakery bash lasted half the night. Millie agreed to go out with the cute fireman before she left town, exchanging phone numbers. Victoria’s creations, some regular dessert favorites and others new recipes, were a hit. Not a crumb remained.

  “I’m going to miss you girls.” Gladys sniffed as the last of the guests were leaving. Frédéric held the door, waiting on her.

  Sam hugged her. “You aren’t leaving on your cruise for several more weeks.”

  “That’s right. You aren’t rid of us yet.” I winked. “Goodnight Frédéric.”

  “Thank you for coming.” Sam shook his hand. “And congratulations again.”

  “Bonne nuit.” The French accent rang crisply through the room. “Good night. Thank you to you girls.”

  We waved then turned and looked at the mess that was the café of the Ooey Gooey Goodness Bakery.

  “Goodness, that’s a lot of cleaning to do.” Sam looked at her watch.

  “And you’re sure it would be wrong to call the guests of honor, who happen to be employees, back to help with the cleaning.”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay.” I sighed. “Guess we better get started if we plan to get home before morning.”

  “Guess so.” Sam kicked her heels off, sliding them into a corner.

  BeeBee tackled the hardest task, already in the kitchen cleaning dishes. She had insisted that Victoria leave and continue to celebrate with Millie.

  The kitchen door swung open. My insides melted and I grinned wide enough to hurt my sore jaw. Griff walked out wearing my apron. Landon, two steps behind him, matched wearing Sam’s.

  “Did someone call for a cleaning crew?” Griff spread his arms wide.

  I felt luckier than a chocoholic left alone in the candy factory. “What would I do without you?” I placed a quick kiss on Griff’s cheek.

  “I don’t plan for you to find out.” He cupped the back of my head and pulled me in for a much longer kiss.

  Raucous whistles from Landon and gagging noises from Sam eventually brought my feet back down to earth as I floated away from Griff to scrub at an already clean spot on the counter.

  EPILOGUE

  “Really? Cool. Really? Wow! Great. Yes,” Sam nodded. “See you then.”

  “Who was that?” I pointed to the phone in her hand as she hung up.

  “Landon.” Her eyes sparkled. We were at the Ooey Gooey Goodness Bakery early this Sunday morning, getting everything prepped before it was time to go to church.

  “Did he decide on a place to live?”

  “Yes, he found a dilapidated beach house. Damaged during the storm, the owners are high-tailing it to somewhere without hurricanes and tropical storms so they are selling it at a steep discount.”

  “Oh? That’s awesome.”

  “But that isn’t the best part!” Sam clapped her hands together.

  Tilting my head to the side, I studied her. “Wait – did her…?” I didn’t want to say it out loud and jinx it.

  “He found her.” Sam nodded, her smile stretching to her ears.

  “Incredible. Praise God!”

  “He’s going to tell BeeBee after church today.”

  I couldn’t wait for her to find out that Eva had been found. My hands itched to text her even now and share the amazing news.

  The sermon seemed to last infinitely longer than normal, no doubt due to my giddiness for BeeBee and desire to be there when she found out. I hadn’t seen Landon before church started but assumed that he was around somewhere. Gregory and Deidra Lowe were also noticeably absent, though that didn’t surprise me at all.

  Now, as Pastor Dan finally began the closing prayer, I could barely sit still.

  “Amen.” The congregation echoed Pastor Dan as he gave thanks for the town’s protection during the crazy storms of the past week.

  I practically leapt to my feet, craning my neck to peer through the crowd of exiting members.

  “Piper, are you okay?” BeeBee flashed concerned eyes my direction.

  “Never better!”

  “I think she’s just ready for lunch.” Sam raised her eyebrows at me. “Landon is meeting us at the bakery with Shrimp Baskets from Momma’s Diner.”

  “He is? I mean, yes, that’s it. I’m famished, let’s go.”

  “Famished?” Sam whispered to me as I led the way through the throng of people toward the double doors at the rear of the church. “You are really terrible at secrets.

  “Hush. I use big words all of the time; it doesn’t mean something is up.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  I stuck my tongue out at Sam and walked to the passenger side of her car. She, BeeBee, and I climbed inside. Griff would meet us at the Ooey Gooey.

  ~

  As Sam passed the parking spots on the street in front of the store, driving around to the back as always, I noticed not only Landon’s car but also Gladys’s and an unfamiliar third vehicle parked by the curb.

  I unlocked the back door and led the way into the empty kitchen. Muffled voices sounded through the door from the café.

  “We aren’t eating in the kitchen?” BeeBee wondered aloud. It was where we typically gathered to snack or eat before we worked.

  “Sounds like Landon and Gladys have the food set up in the café.” Sam smiled. “Let’s go and see.”

  My grin by this point probably looked crazy enough to scare children. I had a sneaking suspicion that Landon was planning to do more than just break the news of Eva’s location to BeeBee. Griff’s truck rumbled up and I went to hold the door open for him. Taking his hand, I drug him inside and hurried to catch up to Sam and BeeBee who were going through the swinging door.

  BeeBee stood rooted to the spot right behind the counter. Landon stood, helping an older woman to her feet. A young pre-teen girl peered around them both, shiny black hair framing her face and extending below her elbows.

  “BeeBee, I have someone here who would like to see you.” He clasped the elderly woman by the elbow, bringing a steadying presence to her shaky legs. “I’ve found Mrs. Clark and she was kind enough to bring Eva to Seashell Bay this afternoon.”

  “Eva.” BeeBee whispered the word, cupping both hands over her mouth. Her head shook from side to side as if she were afraid to believe it.

  Eva looked up to Mrs. Clark who nodded, laugh lines creasing at her eyes as she smiled widely at the girl. Blessing received, Eva dashed forward and crashed into BeeBee’s torso. Wrapping her arms around her big sister, Eva said softly, “You’re real. I thought maybe I only imagined you but you’re real. My big sister.”

  BeeBee sobbed, grabbing hold of Eva and picking her up off the floor even though they were nearly the same height.

  Sam and I dabbed our own eyes, gladly accepting napkins that Gladys passed us before blowing her own nose. Mrs. Clark looked as joyful as the girls as Landon helped her to sit back down.

  “There isn’t really any shrimp, is there?” Griff’s voice cut into the sniffling and crying.

  I laughed out loud, swatting at him. “No. There is no shrimp but you can go get us some if you want to.”

  “On it.” He winked and left, going back through the kitchen.

  BeeBee held tight to Eva’s hand as she hurried o
ver to hug Landon. “Thank you!” She turned to Mrs. Clark. “And thank you, Mrs. Clark, for taking care of Eva all this time. I’m so sorry that I didn’t talk to you or find a better way….”

  “Don’t apologize.” Mrs. Clark frowned. “You were only a child. Eva has been my greatest blessing. She kept me company and brought me great joy every day; I’m only sorry that I’m a daft old lady who didn’t realize you needed help.” Mrs. Clark sighed. “The first night at my house, Eva tried to sleep in the cat kennel.”

  My stomach lurched at the thought of the terrible things these girls and so many others like them had endured.

  Mrs. Clark continued. “After several days of not being able to get her to talk and not finding anyone at that massage place again, I finally decided I would have to take her to the police station. That’s when she told me everything. At least, everything she could. She told me about the men that beat you and that you told her the only way to stay safe from the bad men was to stay with me. She told me about sleeping in big boxes. I probably shouldn’t have kept her, not without telling someone, but it scared me to death to think that if I turned her in, she might have to go back to a life like that again.”

  “So, nobody ever asked questions about where she came from?” Sam looked shocked.

  “I didn’t have a big social calendar. Being a reclusive old lady has its benefits. Intimately familiar with our tiny library, I checked out books and homeschooled Eva as best I could. Eventually, I asked about how to use the computers and a nice boy working there for the summer showed me how to take free classes. As Eva got older, she used the computers at the library to study.” Mrs. Clark smiled. “She even made a few friends over the years, the type she could chat with and laugh with in the library though they never got closer than that.”

  “How did you find them?” BeeBee looked up at Landon and asked, awe in her expression. He would be her hero forever.